Linden Rhoads to lead UW TechTransfer

Turning academic research into compelling business opportunities is not an easy task at public universities. And the University of Washington has received its fair share of criticism over the years, with some saying the UW’s TechTransfer department is too bureaucratic, too slow moving and not engaged enough with the business community.

Linden Rhoads will certainly want to change that perception. The Seattle startup veteran, who worked for technology companies such as ChiliSoft, AdRelevance, Singingfish and Nimble Technology over the past decade, has been named the new vice provost of UW TechTransfer. In that role, Rhoads will be responsible for commercializing intellectual property and building bridges to the business community.

She replaces Jim Severson, who recently left to join a startup.

UW TechTransfer has helped start more than 235 companies in the past 26 years, with licensed technology delivering $38 million to the UW last fiscal year. (Recent startup companies on its roster include Seredigm, Pavia Systems, Mirabilis Medica and others.)

Still, as the P-I’s Joe Tartakoff reported last month, there is a belief within certain segments of the business community that the UW is not doing nearly enough to develop ties with local businesses.

“The University of Washington is very difficult to deal with,” Spiration Chief Executive Richard Shea noted at a panel last month. “We have great relationships with some departments but not the relationship we hoped.”

Rhoads, a well connected entrepreneur and investor who also has ties to the UW (she received a UW law degree in 2000), will have her work cut out for her in the new role. The true test will start August 14, her first day on the job.

That’s a few weeks away. So feel free to offer your suggestions on what needs to be done at the state’s biggest research university. What are your experiences with the TechTransfer department? And what are the biggest challenges Rhoads must try to overcome in her new job?

UPDATE: I caught up with Rhoads in this Q&A in which she explains her goals for the TechTransfer unit.